GHOST IN THE MACHINE – one year on…

Almost missed this myself, but it’s one year since I published GHOST IN THE MACHINE…  (One thing to note is that the weather was a lot better this time last year…)
It’s been a hell of a year.  That date was the culmination of four solid months tearing the previous draft apart and getting something that I was pleased with.  Looking back, I think I could have done it a lot better given what I’ve learned in the last year, but I’m not one for revisionism.  Or am I…?
Here are some stats –

• I sold 1,066 copies of it when I was still charging for it, making £339 (using today’s translated currencies)
• I’ve given away 20,158 copies since it became free in January 2013, mostly with Amazon but a large chunk with Barnes & Noble
• I gave away 4,569 copies in Amazon KDP free events in a three month 2012
• It hit #10 in the UK Free chart in September (NOTE – if you’re doing KDP free days and you hit the top 100, add more days after it, you won’t regret it) – the other free days were damp squibs
• It’s currently floating around #80 in the UK Free Chart (oscillating between 60 and 85)
• I’ve sold 29 paperbacks at >£8 on average
• I’ve had 85 x 5*, 45 x 4*, 6 x 3* and 1 x 2* in the UK plus 14 x 5*, 20 x 4*, 1 x 3* and 1 x 2* in the US.  That is an amazing response – I can even forgive the 2* reviews…
• Amazon is far and away the biggest channel –
  • Amazon – 97.94%
  • Apple – 0.02%
  • Barnes & Noble – 1.85%
  • Createspace – 0.14%
  • Smashwords – 0.02%
  • Sony – 0.04%

The biggest thing for me, I guess, is that I expected maybe 300 people to get it, if I was lucky.  It hadn’t clicked that I’d had >25,000 people at least download the book.  That is quite staggering given that I’m just a fat bloke with a MacBook Air!
I’ve written three novels since – the two sequels DEVIL IN THE DETAIL and FIRE IN THE BLOOD, plus the first draft of DYED IN THE WOOL – and that really was the springboard to giving me an outlet for my creativity.  Giving away GHOST for free has launched the sales for the sequels through the roof – last week, with GHOST in the top 100, I made >£250, which is more than I took him from my first job after University…
Most of all, I’m really grateful – and pleased – to all the people who’ve loved the book and have spread the word far and wide.  That’s all I have, other than writing, is you guys helping me out.
— Ed